HC Deb 22 May 1978 vol 950 c418W
Mrs. Bain

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will seek to exempt the cost of conversion of cars for the disabled from value added tax; and what would be the cost to the Exchequer of such an exemption.

Mr. Robert Sheldon

I am afraid that in a broadly-based tax such relief could not be justified.

The information is not available from which to make a reliable estimate of the revenue which would be lost, but the amount would be very small if relief could be restricted to this one item. The main argument against relief is not the immediate revenue involved, but the repercussions if relief were conceded in this case.

Mrs. Bain

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will exempt disabled drivers from taxation on motor vehicles; and what would be the cost to the Exchequer of such an exemption.

Mr. Robert Sheldon

No. It is not possible to make a precise estimate of the cost of such an exemption because we have no information about the number of disabled people with access to a car or the type or price of the cars which they run.

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